NPR News Now - NPR News: 01-02-2026 7AM EST

Episode Date: January 2, 2026

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Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Windsor Johnston. At least seven protesters have been killed in Iran as tensions mount over the nation's economic collapse. NPR's Michelle Kellerman reports. President Trump says the U.S. will come to the rescue of Iranian citizens unless the violence stops. In a post on truth social, President Trump warns Iran that, quote, we are locked and loaded and ready to go if Iran kills peaceful protesters. Iran has accused the U.S. and Israel of stoking the protests. Ali Larajani, who's on Iran's National Security Council, writes on X, that the American people should know that Trump started this adventurism. The Trump administration carried out a massive bombing campaign of Iran's nuclear sites last year, and Israel is now sounding the alarm about Iran's ballistic missile program, a topic Israel's prime minister raised with Trump earlier this week.

The protests in Iran are about the war. the economy and the collapsing currency. Michelle Kellerman, NPR News, Tel Aviv. The Trump administration is freezing federal support for child care programs around the U.S. because of concerns about fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars. The policy change followed the posting of a video on social media by a right-wing influencer. NPR's Brian Mann reports. Last week, a 23-year-old Maga-linked activist posted a video to YouTube, claiming he had found evidence that child care centers run by Somali Americans in Minnesota were cheating the federal government. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O'Neill then posted a video saying

child care funds nationwide will be released only when states prove they're being spent legitimately. Starting today, we require a justification, receipt, or photo evidence before we make a payment. This disruption will affect hundreds of thousands of children in low-income families in all 50 states. NPR asked the Department of Health and Human Services press office if they found concrete read evidence of serious or widespread wrongdoing, they've not responded. Brian Mann, NPR News. Parts of upstate New York are digging out from a powerful winter storm this week that brought more than a foot of snow to some parts.

Dermonde, Demons, who's originally from the South, says he's still clearing snow in front of his home in Syracuse. We don't have to fight snow. You know, we don't have to fight ice. We still have conditions where, you know, you could die freezing temperatures. But as far as the climate goes, where the extra challenges, We don't have to face that. We're still able to operate the whole winter. We can still do things without having to have the extra obstacles.

The National Weather Service recorded more than two feet of snow at Hancock International Airport on Tuesday that not only smashed the record for December 30th, but also made Tuesday the second snowiest day for Syracuse since official records began in 1902. On Wall Street, Dahl Futures are up 217 points. This is NPR News in Washington. led by the Disney sequels, Avatar, Fire and Ash, and Zootopia 2, Hollywood finished strong at the box office in 2025. But NPR's Bob Mondello reports it was a mixed year overall. In some senses, the year felt like a sequel, same story slightly revised.

For the third year running, the industry's year-end box office total came in just below $9 billion. The biggest blockbusters were primarily remakes and sequels and PG-rated films aimed at families. continue to do better than any other genre. It's a wicked witch. 2025's film took in a combined $8.87 billion in North American cinemas. Holidays, including a terrific Christmas season, did relatively well, but cinemas sat mostly empty other times of the year, including through one of the worst octobers in a decade.

That has cinema owners experimenting with alternative attractions like the two-hour Stranger Things finale, which sold more than 1.1 million tickets over the holidays. Bob Mondello and PR News. The Trump administration says it's canceling the lease for three public golf courses in Washington, D.C. A nonprofit called the National Links Trust had been managing the federally owned courses under a 50-year lease. But after just five weeks and following $8.5 million in improvements, the Interior Department is pulling the plug. The trust says it will keep running the courses for now.

Stocks across Asia traded mixed-day markets in China and Hong Kong posted gains while shares fell in Japan. I'm Windsor Johnston, and you're listening to NPR News from Washington.